Middlesbrough burglary fears over street lights cut plan

Plans for a cash-strapped council to switch off some street lights could lead to burglars targeting those areas, a Labour mayoral candidate has warned.

Some areas in Middlesbrough could see half of the lights off between midnight and 06:00 to save £148,000 a year.

Mayoral hopeful Chris Cooke accused elected mayor Andy Preston and Conservatives and Independents of plunging the town into "darkness".

Mr Preston said he reluctantly backed the move to help "balance the books".

The proposal forms part of the council's 2023-24 budget, which will be voted on by councillors on Monday amid a £14.9m shortfall.

Mr Cooke said: "It really is a sorry state of affairs when you start turning street lights off. I've had a number of residents contact me, concerned about whether it will be their area which is hit.

"[Residents] are concerned about their safety and worried about whether their homes could be burgled.

"We have launched a petition and campaign to urge the mayor to U-turn on this."

Responding to the criticism, Mr Preston said: "Just to be clear, this definitely isn't something I want to do and I'd really welcome [Labour's] input.

"Turning off some street lights at the quietest time, between midnight and 6am, is something that already happens routinely in many other councils.

"Doing the same might be the only way to balance the books, but if people would rather we cut something else I'd definitely like to hear from them so we can discuss alternatives."

More than £12m of savings have been included in the budget proposals with a 3.99% council tax increase also suggested, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Other moves include raising school dinner fees by 25p to generate £181,000 per year and reducing library opening hours to help save £270,000.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].